Monday, March 19, 2012

Happy 1st day of Spring. I'm not sure what spring might bring to mind for you, but for me spring means Easter, of course, and Earth Day, but also gardening, motorcycle rides, graduations, the dreaded spring cleaning and thoughts of fishing. I think that it has been more than a year since I have stood at the water's edge and wondered if I could entice some finned "monster" to bite my hook. Monster is in quotes because those who know me best (You can probably hear them snickering in the background) know that I catch mostly aquarium and near-aquarium sized fishes. So, while I sit here dreaming of earning Jeremy Wade's job, here is a look at the local event calendar.

Below I have listed some upcoming holidays and notable events, along with a calendar of local (Northern Virginia Piedmont) significance. For more promotional event ideas, please check out the calendar portion of the Successful Promotions newsletter that can be found, in its entirety, on our website by clicking HERE.

Upcoming holidays and notable events:

April 6 is Good Friday and the beginning of PassoverApril 2 is the NCAA Men’s Basketball FinalApril 5 is Opening Day for Major League Baseball - promotional schedules are now availableApril 8 is EasterApril 22 is Earth DayMay 13 is Mother's DayMay 27 is the Indy 500May 28 is Memorial DayJune 14 is Flag Day

June 1 is scheduled as Eastern View High School GraduationJune 2 is scheduled as Culpeper County High School GraduationJune 7 is scheduled as Kettle Run High School GraduationJune 9 is scheduled as Fauquier High School GraduationJune 10 is scheduled as Liberty High School Graduation

April is Alcohol Awareness Month or you may prefer to build a promotional event around one of these:

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Now that Lent has started and International Pancake Day (which was February 21st this year) has passed I thought that a good Lenten activity would be for me to stop over-thinking and over-criticizing my blogging activities (or lack of activity). That way I can get started again without guilt and without too critical an eye on the mechanics of writing.

By now, you probably know that we sell calendars. If you didn’t, you now know that we sell calendars. We love calendars and all they stand for – planning, organization and, Mayan-calendar aside, hope in the future. They can also give us the beginnings of or at least the theme around which we can build a promotional event. There is a day for almost everything so I won’t list them all. Let us know if you are looking for a special-theme day to celebrate your business or message and we will look for one.

Below I have listed some upcoming holidays and notable events, along with a calendar of local (Northern Virginia Piedmont) significance. For more promotional event ideas, please check out the calendar portion of the Successful Promotions newsletter that can be found, in its entirety, on our website by clicking HERE.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Just the sound of this blog entry's title strikes me as redundant... "another new beginning". But I guess all beginnings are not necessarily new. Take this blog for example. I began writing it thinking about resolutions and renewed optimism and such, but looking back it appears that my previous 'first blogs of the year' were about the same things. Nothing new there.

Hmmm....what are the most popular New Years resolutions and what promotional products would be appropriate in helping your customers or prospective customers keep them. After all, if your business can be seen as helpful or even as necessary to achieving some goal, then that is a good thing. It positions you as a positive force in the life of your customer and that feeling is reinforced every time your prospect sees your logo on the product that is helping them achieve their goal.

The most popular New Years resolution in the US is to lose weight. I don't think there can be any doubt there. There are thousands of products that can fit into a fitness/weight loss program including sports gear like tennis balls, pedometers, golf equipment, duffel bags, clothing, etc., but they are so individually oriented that they limit their efficiency. After all, sending a logoed golf ball to someone who never plays golf is a waste of your money. If all of your customers/prospects play golf or if you are sponsoring an event where all are playing golf, then that would work, but if they don't then the product is inefficient. So here is my list of the top 3 advertising items that would help your customers stay on track in keeping their weight loss resolutions.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

I was just reminded that we are coming up on an anniversary in a few days. One of our long-time customers out in Texas just called to order his 2011 promotional calendars and reminded me that he had been buying these from us every year for the past 11 years. 11 years is a long time to do anything and we truly appreciate his loyalty.

WE LOVE YOU, GARY!

On August 15, 2011 we will celebrate our 14th year in business. They say that time flies when you're having fun, so this must be work! ;^) We - you and I and this country - have been through a lot over those years. My youngest was just starting kindergarten in 1997. She is now a sophomore at college while her sisters have both graduated and begun their post-daddy lives. I now have a son-in-law and a grandson. Somehow, though, my wife is just as beautiful, talented and smart as she was then, while I ... well, let's be kind and just say that I am not.

Over the years, things have gone up and things have gone down. The Dow Jones Industrial average on January 1, 1997 was 6448.30. The average price of a gallon of unleaded that year was $1.23 and gold averaged $331 per ounce. In contrast, the yield on the 10 year US Treasury Bond began 1997 at 6.58% while the average interest rate on a 30 year conventional mortgage was around 7.6%.

It's a funny thing. I can't remember how old I am, but I can remember our first order. It was for business card sized refrigerator magnets for a florist. In our first 6 months of business existence, we served 16 customers. All of them either knew me in a former life, or met me when I walked into their place of business and asked for a moment of their time. Over the next 13 and a half years 6 of those customers sadly closed their doors, changed professions or moved far away (remember, Al Gore's internet had not yet become commonplace!). Of the remaining 7, 1 has changed ownership (and apparently their promotional products distributor) while 6 are still currently active customers.

WE LOVE YOU GUYS!We stopped using calculators and columnar pads to keep our books in 1998. (Yes, I still have ours from 1997)

Our nation was attacked and has been fighting back on 3 fronts since 2001. God bless our troops.

We have have served thousands of customers over the years, including 14 who placed their first order with us this year. Our new customers found us either by internet search, or they met me at a networking event, or they were referred by a satisfied customer. By the way, we reward referrals! Looking back, 9/11 has made door-to-door sales very difficult. The internet has made door-to-door sales almost unnecessary.

What does all this mean? We love our customers. We work hard to make them happy. We remember their names and their preferences. We return phone calls and answer emails. We want to be sure that their promotion or their event goes off successfully, without a hitch - at least our part of it. We work with them to find the right product at the right price and get it delivered on time...year after year after year.

Monday, July 18, 2011

This is a dangerous business. You wouldn’t think so, but danger lurks all around a promotional products order. Sooo many things can go wrong…wrong Item Number, wrong quantity, wrong artwork, wrong shipping address, wrong imprint color …sooo many things…no inventory in stock, wrong stock in the bin, wrong sizes pulled, wrong product color, wrong need-by date. Those are just some of the avoidable mistakes. There are always things that cannot be planned against. Things like boxes lost in transit, shipments damaged or destroyed, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, labor strikes, US customs delays or even theft. Now throw on top of that RUSH requirements and the whole order looks extremely risky. How I sleep at night is beyond me. Wait…I don’t sleep some nights.

How do you mitigate the risk?

First, of course, know who you are dealing with. Work with someone you trust, especially if they have experience in the matter.

Second, order early. There is usually no need to wait to the last minute to place your order. “Proper prior planning prevents poor performance”, right? Waiting will cost you both in money and in worry. Rush orders often involve a substantial Rush Charge and expedited shipping. Rush charges are necessary because we are asking someone to put in extra hours, ie work overtime, to get your job done and to us by the event. The shipping cost for 1000 Magnetic Business Card Pro Football Schedules (the kind that you add your business card to) UPS ground to me, usually a 3-4 day trip, is about $29. Shipping the same quantity UPS 2nd Day Freight is about $110. Next Day Super Saver will cost you around $242.

Third, require a written acknowledgment or confirmation of your order as well as a proof of the artwork. There is almost always time to make sure. My father, a printer by trade, always warned “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” Make sure the item number and description, quantity, colors, shipping address, in-hand date and art are all correct. Those are the things you can control. If you receive the acknowledgment and proof, but then don’t check them, any mistakes in production are rightfully yours.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Trade shows can be a great business-building venture. They can also be a waste of time (and money and hard on you back and knees). Depending on the show, hundreds or thousands of people will walk past your booth, table or display. At the show, your job is

1) to figure out which of the passers-by are good prospects and then2) get the good prospects to stop so you can proceed though your sale process

Last week we discussed some pre-show activities to help ensure your success at the show, namely to get qualified prospects – the people you really need to meet – to your booth at the show. At the show, the approach we take is to divide the attendees into 3 groups.

Group 1 are qualified prospects. These are the people who need your goods or service and can make the decision to buy them from you.

Group 2 are unqualified prospects. These are people who may need your goods or services, now or in the future, but either cannot yet afford them or will not purchase them from you for some reason (long term vendor relationship, their supervisor makes the decision, the boss's son is in your line of work, etc). These might develop into Group 1 prospects when the situation changes in the future.

We call Group 3 ‘the bag people’. These are the folks who are there only for your 'stuff'. They will take everything off your table if you let them. They don't care what you do or what you offer. They bring several of their own bags - really big, sturdy ones - to the event and will walk around the entire venue several times collecting everything they can.

It is best, therefore, to not to go the event alone, especially large events where you have invested a big entry fee. It is also advisable to have several giveaway items of differing values at the show. Think of it as collecting in a river. Put your best closers at the table and one or two screeners in the ‘upstream’ path of the attendees. Arm the screeners with inexpensive items that will satisfy the 'bag people' so they can direct them back into 'the current'. The screeners then direct the Group 1 qualified prospects and, depending on the size of the show and the number of closers you have, the Group 2 unqualified prospects to the closers. The closers take contact information, make the pitch, make the follow up plans and reward the prospects with the more expensive giveaway item you have hidden discretely from view of the ‘bag people’.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Ok. Let's talk specifics. For the next several entries we will focus on a number of industries and events. We will discuss which products seem to make the most sense for each, and how best to use them. It is always dangerous for us to do this sort of thing. Once we start naming products we run the risk that you will think we only offer those products. If we talk about an industry you are not part of, you may lose interest in us. Oh well. No risk, no profit…

Today… trade shows.

Exhibiting at trade shows can be a great way to build your business. Depending on the show, hundreds or even thousands of potential customers will walk past your booth, table or display. Your job is

1) to figure out which of the passers-by are good prospects and then2) get the good prospects to stop so you can proceed though your sale process

Prior to the show it is a very good idea to decide who you want to meet and what your goals are. If you don't know who you want to meet, why spend the money to exhibit in the first place? Start with your best prospects. Add your dream accounts. Who are your best customers now and who might be their 'clones'? It doesn’t have to be a big number if adding just one of them can make your year.

Once you know who they are, invite them. Yes, invite them. Don't make the mistake of assuming that the event coordinator will send them an invitation. Send them something so that they know you will be there and that you want to see them. More importantly, give them an incentive to STOP AT YOUR BOOTH. Getting them to the show is NOT enough.

Here’s an idea. Send them an ‘invitation to the movies’ along with the event information and promise them a movie gift card when they stop at your table. Or, prior to the event, arrange with the event caterer to buy a number of drink tickets, then send a tote bag with your logo and a QR Code linked to a map with your booth location on it to your list promising to give them extra drink tickets when they stop at your booth WITH the bag. Not only will this send them to your booth, it will help you determine which of the people passing by your booth are the people you want to meet - they are carrying your bag!